This invention relates generally to systems for selecting randomly stored articles, such as cards, envelopes, film jackets, and the like, having edge coding notches along at least one margin thereof. The present invention is more particulary directed to a combined selector for selecting coded articles and a coder for cutting or punching selected teeth to edge code articles of the type stored within the system.
In the past, many systems have been proposed for selecting one article from a plurality of edge-notched articles stored within the system. One such system is described in Parry et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,877. The selector described in that patent includes a slotted platen for supporting from below a plurality of edge-notched cards, or the like, with coding notches disposed longitudinally along the lower edge of said card.
Each of the cards used in the system has a plurality of teeth. Some of these teeth are removed from each card to code the card with information. The card selector is provided with a mechanism for selectively raising coding bars from within the platen slots to engage registration notches in each of the cards. The coding bars which are raised correspond to the removed tooth pattern of the desired card or cards.
Once all of the selected coding bars have been raised, the selection mechanism is operative to slide the selected card or cards transversely across the platen. Only those cards bearing the desired code are not restrained by the code bars. These cards are thus initially separated from the remainder of the cards. Thereafter, as explained in Parry et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,877, the "rejected" cards are locked in position and the selected card or cards are completely separated from the stack.
The article selection system in the above-identified Parry et al patent includes only a selector. These is no provision in the apparatus for coding a card, or the like, to permit a new card to be added to the group of cards stored in the system. In practice, cards have been coded on a separate card punching apparatus, such as the document coder described in the patent granted to Thomas R. Bucy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,067. Thus, a separate piece of equipment was necessary to allow the user to add new cards to the system or to replace a damaged card. This requirement adds considerably to the cost of system installation and, in addition, requires appreciable additional space.
One proposed solution to this problem is disclosed in Cross U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,416. While that patent does show a combined selector and coder, the structure proposed still has several defects. In the first place, the coder is not automatic in operation, but rather requires the manual depression of a handle to provide the card punching force. Moreover, the construction shown in objectionable for other reasons, e.g., it requires the addition of a substantial number of components to the selector. These require an appreciable amount of space and materially add to the cost of the overall unit.
In view of the foregoing limitations of the prior art, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a combined edge-notched article selector and coder which is automatic in operation.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a combined article selector and coder which is highly reliable and less expensive than prior art devices.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a combined article selector and coder of compact size.
It is another object of the invention to provide a combined article selector and coder in which an article selection operation can be performed simultaneously with an article coding operation, the article coding operation requiring that no additional controls be manipulated by the operator.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a coder which requires a minimal amount of force to operate so that the coder can be actuated by the force normally provided to shift the code bars of the selector.
More particularly, the present invention is predicated on the concept of providing a card punching unit which utilizes the movement of selector bars in a card selector to effect also the punching operation on a card to be coded. A combined selector and coder of the present invention advantageously utilizes selector bars of the type shown in Parry et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,877. These selector bars have a two-component movement. The bars are raised by shifting them in a horizontal direction and camming them upwardly.
In accordance with the present invention, the horizontal component of the bar movement is utilized to shift the cutting blades associated with those bars shifted for shearing the corresponding teeth of a card to be coded.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that the coding operation is accomplished by the same keyboard operation used to select a card. That is, the user merely enters the desired code to be encoded in the card on the keyboard and inserts a blank card in the coder. The card is then coded automatically.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention: